RT TO SHOW EMELIANENKO FIGHT AT EFN 50 MMA EVENT IN 360-DEGREE VIDEO

ST. PETERSBURG, JUNE 16, 2016 – One of MMA’s greatest, Fedor Emelianenko, will take on Fabio Maldonado of Brazil in his first fight in Russia since 2012 on Friday, June 17. For the special occasion, which is part of the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2016) activities, RT, the global television news network, is preparing a treat for all MMA fans – a 360-degree video of the event.

RT will film the EFN 50 tournament, organized by Eurasia Fight Nights, though specialized 360-degree camera equipment and will make it available to fans worldwide via its dedicated panoramic video mobile app – RT360. The app is available on Google Play and from the AppStore for all fans from around the world to watch the unique event like never before.

“This will be an unprecedented experience for all the viewers who will tune in to watch Emelianenko take on Maldonado. RT is one of the world’s first media organizations to develop broadcast infrastructure to film and broadcast 360 video, which opens brand new horizons in news gathering and delivery; we already have a library of 360 video news stories and documentaries. Now we are doing a major MMA event coverage in the 360 format for millions of viewers,” said Kirill Karnovich-Valua, Head of Online Projects at RT.

Viewers will be able to see not only the MMA fights from various angles, but will also witness reaction from 9,000 spectators packed inside the Sibur Area in St. Petersburg. The event’s headliner – Fedor Emelianenko – is a four-time MMA champion nicknamed ‘The Last Emperor’. The main promoter of the show is Kamil Gadzhiev, co-founder and CEO of Eurasia Fight Nights. EFN has partnered up with Russia’s Summa Group to produce the show.

“We all are looking forward to the event on Friday, which will feature some of Russia’s greatest MMA stars – Fedor Emelianenko, Vitaly Minakov, Kirill Sidelnikov, Rasul Mirzaev and Sergey Pavlovich. We are happy to partner with Fedor, with Summa Group and its CEO Ziyavudin Magomedov, and we all share big plans for the development of MMA in Russia,” said Gadzhiev.

RT has already produced VR 360 videos during a football match played by the Russian national team and the launch of the Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur spaceport. Viewers can also tour RT studios during a newscast with the RT360 app.